1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel having a controllable viewing angle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although a narrow viewing angle has been one of the main drawbacks of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), various technologies such as compensation films, polarizers, and domain dividing techniques makes it possible for LCDs to have a wide viewing angle. By employing the wide viewing angle technologies, LCDs can be used in various applications, including computer monitors and televisions. Although wide viewing angle technologies are generally advantageous for LCD devices, there are cases in which a wide viewing angle is not desirable. While a wide viewing angle is generally desired for LCDs in conventional viewing situations, in applications where privacy protection is important, such as automatic teller machines (ATMs), civil affairs departments handling personal records, government agencies and so forth, a narrow viewing angle would be desirable to prevent others from viewing the displayed image.
Privacy filters may be attached to a conventional LCD panel to create a narrow viewing angle for the display. The privacy filter operates by stacking a light blocking partition wall in a film to block light transmission at angles beyond a predetermined angle, thereby displaying a black image.
In the privacy filter, however, mode change between the wide and the narrow viewing angle mode is not possible. Therefore, it is not possible to selectively choose a wide or narrow viewing angle depending on the desired usage.